A blog about my history project, a biography of an 18th century American woman who lived in and is buried in my town. I kind of think of her as my imaginary friend. Or my ghostly friend. Or a friendly ghost. Ghostly friend sounds better.

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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Parenting Magazine

So...I hate Parenting Magazine. Or Parents magazine. Or Mommy magazine. All that garbage. Mostly I think it's because I hate being told what to do. Oh, and I hate articles that are basically advertisements but which present themselves as living better type articles. Mostly, I especially hate being told what to do. But I already said that.

Also it's because of articles like this - "The Secrets of Happy Families." Most of it innocuous, I'm sure. So I'm reading along, giving them the benefit of the doubt. And then this: "5. Happiness doesn't always make you happy. It's a strange concept: The things you do to be fulfilled don't fulfill you. A parent's daily schedule is packed with piano lessons, soccer practice, playground playdates, and mommy-and-me classes. Individually, they are meant to bring joy and fulfillment, but collectively, doing them all can leave you frazzled and worn-out.

"Ask an emergency room doctor if he feels anxious and stressed out," says Rubin. "He will say 'Yes, and yes.' But in the big picture, I bet that job makes the doctor feel happy and fulfilled." So think macro, not micro: Driving your child all over town for piano lessons and soccer practice may not leave you content, but knowing that you're enriching your child's life in the long term should."

End quote. Fuck you, Parenting Magazine. Fuck you. You know what would be a good book title? "The Audacity of the Parenting Magazine Article Writer"

So, I was angry. But then...then there was a bit of awesome in the last page. Someone snuck it in. There are about twelve blurbs and they all fall into the following category: "I almost fell over when my child said ___ to ____" Mostly lame. Or sorta funny, but primarily lame. Example: "...my mommy doesn't wear pajamas" to our elderly neighbors. Fine. Ha, ha, awkward.

The best though? The reason that it's ok that somehow I have this subscription and will possibly be charged with it even though I'm pretty sure it's just junkmail and that I never signed up for anything. The reason that it's ok that the rest of the magazine pisses me off.

My favorite entry was the following: I almost fell over when my child said..."this is bull----" to her grandma because she wouldn't let her sit in a rocking chair. Oops!

About Me

I am at home with my two children, who are lovely btw, and have been at home for about 5 years. I'm an amateur writer and really really amateur historian. So please be gentle. I've published a chemistry thesis, though and co-authored several journal articles based on my chemistry research in graduate school. Oh, and also, please don't steal from me. Apparently, that's a problem on the interwebs. Thanks.